Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Tata: Maker of World's Most, Least Expensive Cars?

NY TIMES--The luxury brand Jaguar is poised to join Tata Motors, a widely diverse Indian auto company that makes tractor-trailers, full-size SUVs and the world’s cheapest car. A final signed deal, which is expected to be worth about $2 billion, will not be announced until early next year.

When Tata is done buying a company, it should look the same as before, “except now it’s owned by someone in India,” said Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group.

3 Comments:

This is an interesting marriage of companies. I have to wonder what will become of the Jaguar name and level of quality when it is being managed by the same company that produces tractors and the least expensive vehicle. Not a good sign for Jaguar.

A well managed company is a well managed company (have to say that the last owners had me worried). Multinationals are just as likely to come from other nations as the U.S.

The Chinese have surpassed France in consumption of luxury goods and in a few years will become the world's leading consumers of luxury goods. The acquisition by an Indian company would appear to be strategic.